Peters



' (No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT GFEICE.

WAGON-JAC K.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 240,610, dated April 26, 1881.

Application tiled November 27, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD R. PIERsoN, of Westeld, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements iuWagou-J acks, of which the following specification is a description.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of liftin g apparatus commonly called wagon jacks, for raising the bodies and` Wheels of wagons, carriages, and other vehicles s from the ground, so that certain parts thereof may be readily got at for the purpose of cleaning, greasing, or repairing the same, the object of my invention being to produce a wagonjaclc in which the frame, lifting-bar, and lever can be made entirely of wood, so as to save eX- pense, the complete apparatus being light, compact, and easily handled, and at the same time capable of adjustment to wheels of different heights.

The invention consists in the combination of a lifting-bar arranged to slide in an upright frame, and carrying au adjustable rest at its upper end, with a straight lever pivoted in said frame, and having its upper end expanded on both sides to form a cam or eccentric, which bears against said lifting-bar and operates the same.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my wagon-jack. Fig. 2 is a front view'of the same 5 and Fig. 3 is a vertical section thereof, talren on the plane of the line x w, Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate sponding parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, A designates the bed of my wagon-jack, supporting an upright frame consisting of two strips, B B', the inner faces of which are grooved vertically their entire length to receive the lifting-bar C. This lifting-bar C fits into the grooves in the strips B B forming the frame, that portion of the bar arranged to slide in the grooves being left open nearly its entire length to permit the free operation of a combined lever and cam or eccentric, heref inafter described. The upper portion of the bar G is not so wide as the lower portion, and one face thereof is provided with a series of transverse notchesm a, into which theends of a metal bail, b, can be sprung to adjust a rest, r, to wheels of different heights. This adjust- Pcorreable rest r consists of a block of wood with a broad surface adapted to bearagaiust thea-XIe or other part of a vehicle. Its inner side is straight and fits snugly against the `smooth side of the bar C, audits outer side is beveled off and provided with a V`shaped transverse groove,iuto which Isecure the bail b, the ends of which are adapted to fit in the notches n it of the bar C.

In the upper part of the lifting-bar (I, I make a vertical slot, s, and set therein ascrew, s', or other guiding arrangement, the head of which slides in a groove, g, in the slot s. This screw s is fastened to the rest r, and prevents lateral displacement of the rest, as the screw-head is larger than the diameter of the slot s; but it does not interfere with the adjustment of the rest to different heights on the bar C.

I make the top of the lifting-bar G flat, so

that it may be employedindependently of the restr to raise any part of a vehicle, as in many cases it will be just the right height, and the rest r need not be brought into play. It will thus be seen that by this arrangement I provide two bearing surfaces on the lifting-bar G, either of which, when properly brought into contact with the object to be raised, can be operated to perform its function by the same lever, as will hereinafter be described.

L designates the lever consisting, of astraight lever-arm expanded on both sides at its upper end to form a cam or eccentric, E. This lever L is hung vertically between the strips B B', being pivoted therein by a pivot-pin, p, which passes from side to side of the frame through the cam or eccentric E, at a point nearly on a line with the center of the straight lever-arm. Whenthe lever L is moved so as to bring the full side of the eccentric E against the lifting bar, the lifting-bar can then be raised to its highest point by forcing the lever upwardly, and by passing the lever arm through the frame and then raising it on the other side as far as it will go, the lifting-bar will gradually descend until its lower ends rest on the bed A.

In practice the lower ends of the lifting-bar will be permitted to fall until they rest on the the bed A. Then the lifting-bar will be brought under the q'axle of the vehicle, and the lever forced down. If this operation does not clear the wheels of the ground, the lever can be passed through the frame and raised on the other side until the wheels are cleared. No

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inconvenience will be caused by passing the lever through the frame in this operation, as the eccentric E does not operate to force the bar upwardly until the lever has passed through the frame, so that the operator can take hold ofit on the other side. The lifting-baris firmly held at any desired height by friction alone, thus obviating the necessity of using ratchets or other holding devices in connection with the lever.

It will be seen that there is Very little strain on the lifting-bar and lever, as the strain is in a vertical direction, and hence will be received by the pivot-pin and upright frame.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in a Wagon-jack, of the l lifting-bar C, arranged to slide in vertical 2. The combination, in a Wagon-jack, of the lifting-bar O, having the vertical slot s, groove g, and transverse notches 1ML, with the adjustable rest r, bail b, and guidingscrew s', all constructed and arranged substantially as described, for the purposes specied.

3. The combination, in a wagon-jack, of the bed A, supporting the upright frame B B', lever L, cam or eccentric E, and pivot-pin p, with the lift-ingbar C, having a vertical slot, s, groove g, and notches n u, and vcarrying an adjustable rest, r, attaching-bail b, and guidingscrew s', all constructed and arranged substantially as described, for the purposes specified.

The foregoing description ot my invention EDWARD R. PIERSON.

Witnesses EBNEs'r C. WEBB, ARTHUR C. WEBB.

' signed by me this 25th day of October, A. D., 4o 

